My sleeping mind depicts a glowing night and a sound sublime Sleeping minds hide thoughts of jealousy I cannot see the point of these selfless intentions Selfish emotions lead me to jump into the fray

Sweat beading at the brow of the anxious Waiting to be ordained Groomed to recite Read top to bottom and left to right Gazing with eyes of flaccid white As blood has been shed Masses are trembling at the sight of it Usurping the previous figurehead Culmination of this horrid and violent display "Obey if you fear death" Establishing dominance on the sleeping world One-hundred years, insidious plans Forcibly thrust into a new age Financial powers and envious tongues, static Trample democracy "Free world" scrolling hypnotically on screens The population resumes life The tension thick, heavy with fear Prompting a simple jump into a state of collapse Watching as the clay vessel of the sentient-self explodes Tongues retreat to halt the screams Bathed in the dull white light of these screens, messages permeate and rebuttal the advance Longing to detach Putrid sacrifice, bare before the ones who pull the strings Child, you have ascended (Nectared tongues, godless acts pull you back) Decadence Falling faster The rush of images trickling down a nexus of never-ending and oppressive information Pressure mounts, the wage gap persists, and classism grows stronger Illusion of choice, no singular voice enough be heard above others Aristocrats Dehumanized mass in their profane state Awash in their actions, most foul 'Neath the guise "All is fine, stay asleep. Breed." Blood has been shed Masses are trembling at the sight of it Usurping the previous figurehead Culmination of this horrid and violent display "Obey if you fear death" Establishing dominance on the sleeping world New world Now I am metamorphosis setting in Tongues retreat to halt the screams Bathed in the dull white light of these screens, messages permeate and rebuttal the advance Longing to detach Putrid sacrifice, bare before the ones who pull the strings Child, you have ascended (Nectared tongues, godless acts pull you back) Decadence Falling faster The rush of images trickling down a nexus of never-ending and oppressive information Hung from rafters, torn to pieces Dance Sway to the rhythm of the scaffold Razor thin, we grasp 'til we grab hold One more glimpse of light before the walls cave in Branches to roots Across our leaves Sewn in our seeds We will outlast you

Phase three: rest my eyes and awake to a new world Thirst and hunger, softened by the orange glow Patience, my children Staving off the imminent is what I do best, but even God’s work takes time Embers take flight with no end in sight Stoke the flame and point the blame Casually ignore the cries of those in need Never again This is our only option, but can we band as one? To change our ways? Upon the gate? Last chance to push away You’re the sun I'm the seed Set the scene I can see green It’s a wonder Thinking back on what we've done thus far and how we’ve made it scraping by on our obsession for more These feelings catch me scratching away at my self-worth This is exactly matching the way that you're making me feel

Apparatus of control, I offer you this warning: “Stay inside; doors locked; keys broken, tossed aside Your last bastion of safety has fallen to dust” Unwilling counterpart, you will never kill this feeling May the universe forgive these things I've done Search how you may, my child, serenity eclipses you like lamb's blood covered doors How could anyone forgive these things I've done? Give in Now your days will be endless night Scratching at the lids of my eyes Something awoken, permeating my dreams My narcolepsy eating moments away Tension in the moments of ease "When will I see the dark?" Ascended to power A palpable and growing apathy ebbing its way to the core of the issue and flowing up and out of an innocent throat Can't seem to find a way out Carry the message, bury the vessel Watching all that you love pass away We'll dissolve attachment to reason when we are set free Flight abandons you in your time of greatest need Still life/against the sun, we expire Still life’s against the sun, we run We've placed our faith in him Some ask why We say no Some may die We've let go A willing sacrifice denied Prolific host has come to light When the final light has vanished with a flicker, will you counteract? Would you be surprised to find that it is not your time to die? Nothing stands between us and perfect war I am the cause of all this Who will challenge this order? The gates to this new realm are ominous Stand and face a new god and fall? (You scratch for the titles, you scratch for the accolades) A new god Still life/against the sun, we expire Crushed We’ve placed our faith in you Some may die Some ask why we’ve let go

Obey if you fear death Cold, an unwashed hand Stone in my mouth, of my house Wandering up the stream, my feet are feeling for obstacles So many blocking my path Slowly the undertow is creeping to the front of my mind Futility precedes me Scratching away at my strength In a moment I grimace and cry out Slowly my grip gives way Lay my head at the alter again Its purpose elusive: it needs blood to show us the end (Is this familiar?) There's no telling what the future holds for us I sacrifice all my means for a ploy Dead set on maintaining control Panic spreading fast Centrifuge spiraling down Thoughts set me ablaze Entrapped, entangled in a sea of dissolution, unmet expectations, and lies Set me ablaze Constantly snared by my inability to tread these waters of my own head This is the prophecy given to issue Control and make all of you subjects Thrusting my name into infamy Feezing sensations manipulate subtext My wings spread unending Thoughts set me ablaze Entrapped, entangled in a sea of dissolution, unmet expectations, and lies Set me ablaze Constantly snared by my inability to tread these waters of my own head Scratch for the titles, you scratch for the accolades Stir in your ignorance Fade with each passing day And so, you've come around to playing the roll It's taking its toll, a scar on your mind Stop praying for escape, you'll fail Futility in your aspirations becomes obvious You’ve failed to retaliate Now your silent disapproval has been taken as consent Please accept my sincerest sympathies for your condition: the naivete of inaction To sacrifice all you believe for a ploy To surrender control And here shall stand the end

Grayscale horizon backdrop Space of stage beyond Is it better for you now? Avert your eyes Days beneath this shroud grow colder every time Has your mission, for the moment, come to an end? You leave no tracks, human virus Seeking to end this quickly The weight of your sins has endured and matured to a seething lesion agape on your spine And now my lungs will taste fruition They have parched themselves waiting to breathe the air on this night With blood, we set aside all prior boundary lines (More bloodshed) Yet no ties to the lives that we have left behind (All we've been) Give chase to every mountain on this changing scape (And grow) Hide, gripping on a shot at survival Marvel at the stitching undone Hiding in wait for the end No time of reprisal (no) No time for a second's reprieve Though you run, you will come to see refusal of your destiny The face of your true enemy is right here And he's holding a knife to your throat and a pen to the tomes of history Dare my heart cry "usurper?" My callousness endures this relentless weight placed on my psyche, the hand of fate, this chosen future… But I digress I disgrace my name and sullen my hands, but I don’t belong here anyway The parasites of this world have left it diseased and in waste A rising tide of blackest blood for the sake of vanity and greed And now all has become dust and ash as smoke chokes the skies The fire cleanses the filth from our veins for we have fallen and failed from the start of our days It's my regret to inform you we've fallen off course And I recall telling you about the goings on Trembling whimpers die out with every day Wiping the slate with each movement I make Pave my way to redemption With blood, we set aside all prior boundary lines (More bloodshed) Yet no ties to the lives that we have left behind (All we've been) Give chase to every mountain on this changing scape and grow Hide, gripping on a shot at survival Crushing your chest Buried in bodies, piling by the hour I’m holding a knife to your throat No remorse for the tomes of history The world moves slowly Clinging to this mountain My fingers rip and splinter The world turns slowly beneath my nails as my mission, for the moment, attains new course There is no trust Mass panic ensues Fruition of fiction Precedent established It's my regret to inform you we've fallen off course And I recall telling you about the goings on

Armaments In moments of great unease, we cling to these sweet ornaments Adorning the bleak reprieve we've reached, stolen, and made for ourselves within the dead of night Thrust into a world where we fight to survive I seek those armaments In moments of great unease, we must hold these exchanges close But in this moment, we're stuck waiting (Pressure building close behind) Patiently for nothing (I feel, somehow, I may have made the damning choice for nothing) Cast across the line I can't suppress these voices I fear these walls won't ease their grip on me In unison: "I can't let go/but so much left to rebuild from here" I can't react to these horrors without confronting the ones within myself No, I seek peace Cleansed by an unseen hand I will rid myself of all of this Farewell Cast across the line Pressure building close behind I feel, somehow, I may have made the damning choice for nothing Sleep takes me strange States must change place Make these feet bleed Greed from these seeds Pray for me in my solitude No one will hear your voice It's all the same thing Nothing's gonna change ‘till we get it right And I know these ghosts They haunt you still So, are we out of time? We're so hungry and we're starving just for a perfect moment under the sun I leave this to you: A new possibility for a future you made for yourself I hope this works out Because we had our chance and we lost out So many monsters hide in the safest parts of our fractured world I take my leave and bury this behind me Although I can't quite shake excitement of this new potential Step up and take the mantle of the one they need Stand your ground against the ones who’d take your future But within the moments that our hearts seem unable to breach Feel corruption taking over I was a man, now a pariah I lift the world up from my shoulders But within the moments that our hearts seem unable to breach Feel corruption taking over You are the sun, you are the future You are the only thing that stands between us and destruction But what a trench of failures So many graves filled, yet unnamed Delusions of grandeur fill minds and hearts yet life moves forward With time and patience, you will approach an answer I feel it dancing in the air: the tension Slow; the lights are to be left low (And turn into a shroud that hides this mess We've buried ourselves) Climbing a ladder of my best intentions (Burn all the remnants to ashes) A new world, a new order You’ve lost your will to shine

Birds of prey standing proud above the waves With sharpened daggers, ladled spoons in hand, the cherubs slit the throats o’ sleeping giants of Rephaim Footsteps, imprints on these waves (Sprinkled on the shore of this sheer drop) Fall and worship human nature (Vengeance is mine, rip out their eyes) My keeper's wife Ride upon the overflow And these feelings come and go Turgid fabrication, putrid black façade Trampling the sky beneath your gleaming kingdom come Glamorous light, it shimmers Somewhere, it sings Dance beyond the shroud Deafened by the sound of this Thrones inside the courtroom, bullets in the sea, and sickly sweet, you’ve drugged the well What is a man to do? A persona of conviction? And what of the body count now when the trumpet sounds? What is left of normality within an eternity without end? Lay my head at the altar again Its purpose is known now: It asks blood and offers an end Into the current (Self-doubt) Forced to a cycle (Self-doubt) Topples in value, dwindles in presence (Self-doubt) What if this all was a farce? (Snuffed out) What left in the sky but the graves that we dug? It's too much to bear for me alone I find myself disappointed in us We surely should have learned something along the way I'll be the one to take their place in this My ambition will save us from our conquerors’ will Now move forward

Patience; surely something you've learned dying in your sleep, waiting for the world to change Clearly, I'm the not the one they're waiting for (I'm waiting for) My brain assures it: I can't afford the price of making change (Afraid of the price of making change) Even when the cards are stacked against us all, we trudge our way into the night A cloud of uncertainty, where life and love are scarce We’ve carved a home out from the bones of all we've known and our hearts break every day, wearing our shoulders down But have we really changed? Walking through the crowd, I see the same shades I feel the pressure, everybody's animosity It’s fermenting and disrupting any harmony we have left Am I the only one to notice? Ghosts follow Emanating voices from the past Ghosts follow Come to me in dreams and tell me that If things were to continue, then they fear the worst and we are not progressing but we're going back "I'm just a person, I'm not a murderer. I've done nothing to deserve this torture." "But your complacency we can’t accept. So, take heed and show your resolve." And everybody wants to be the last to die, but nobody ever wants to be the first to dive into the mouth of the lion and into the sea Turn back to safety, the space between We’ve barely scratched the surface, the climb uphill is treacherous, and we know not the enemy we've made Taken somewhere We can't see our way out What dismay? Who'd have thought? Who would have dreamed? Apart from my visions, all my idols lay in waste Break me down My heart is fractured, I've forgot my name With fingers stripped to bone, I tote the shame But in a stifled choke, I hope for change in my life ten times over We’ve carved a home out from the bones of all we've known and our hearts break every day, weighing our shoulders down Nostalgia corrupts me and tears stream down my face as I think about the way things are and the way things were and how scarcely the two now agree Life itself begins to entropy As I stare into this rift where power shifts and cowards win, life itself begins to atrophy Spur me forward, beyond this depravity I've known: Pointless existence